Undergarment.



No; 894,086. PATENTED JULY 21, 1908. W. P. WALKER. UNDBRGARMENT.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA UG.17, 1907.

SSSSSSSSSSSSS l- ILLIAMPQWALKER, or roar SILL, OKLAHOMA.

UNDERGARMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 21, 1908.

Application filed August 17, 1907. Serial No. 338,995.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM P. WALKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fort Sill, in the county of Comanche, Oklahoma, have invented new and useful Improvements in Undergarments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to under garments and it has particular reference to-that class of under garments which are known as union suits.

Union suits, as the name irn lies, consist of upper and lower garments, t at is to say, shirts or waists and drawers, which are permanently united together in the form of a single garment. Ordinarily, union'suits, so called, are manufactured throughout of knit goods or fabric which is soft, pliable and sufficiently elastic to stretch and adapt itself to the figure of a person wearing the garment, and to yield to the movements of the body.

Woven material has been used for the purpose of reinforcing union garments at various points where special durability and non-elasticity is desired; for instance, around the neck, and at the plackets and other points where fastening means, such as buttons and button holes are needed but apart from such reinforcements, which are commonly used in connection with-under garments manufactured of knit fabrics, such union suits have been usually produced or manufactured, practicall in a single piece, from knit goods. t is wel known, however, that this very peculiarity of construction has deterred many persons from using or wearing union suits, in spite of the fact that they are in other respects extremely desirable; the reason being found not only in the fact that the drawers ortion of the garment is apt to wear out long efore the slurt portion, but particularly therein that very many ersons dislike the clinging qualities of the linit fabrics in the ower garments.

I propose to. overcome these objections, and to roduce a union suit which shall be acceptagle to those who object to a union garment having all the advantages and none of the discomforts or disadvantages of the ordinary union suit.

VVit-h these and other ends in view, which will readily appear as the nature of the inven-- tion is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts which will be hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention; it being, however, understood thatno limitation is necessarily made to the reclse structural details therein exhibited, ut that changes, alterations and modifications within the scope of the invention maybe resorted to when desired. I

' In "the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective front view of a union suit constructed in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is a rear view of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail View in elevation showin the seat portion of the drawers unbuttone and slightly se arated.

Corresponding arts in the severa figures are denoted by li e characters of reference.

The shirt ortion 1 ofthe improved garment isma e of any suitable knit fabric which is both flexible and elastic. The drawers ortion 2 is made of textile material, such ast e goodswhich is commonly known as drilling said drawers portion being permanently connected with the shirt portion, along the waist line by stitching, as shown at 3, or in an suitable manner; the garment being provi ed along the waist line with a waistband 4 of drilling or other suitable relatively non-elastic material. The drawers portion of the garment is provided along the inner and outer sides of the legs with inserted strips 5 and 6, of knit goods or other suitable material of a relatively elastic nature, after the fashion of the well known garments which are known as elastic seam drawers said drawers portion is likewise provided with ankle bands 7 of knit goods, and with an inserted seat and crotch portion 8, which.

suit made wholly of knit material, by making is likewise made of elastic knit goods. The

a union suit comprising a shirt portion made of pliable, elastic knit goods and a drawers portion constructed mainly of relatively nonelastic textile material the same being permanently united along the waist line so as to produce to allintcnts and purposes a single I drawers portion of the garment is provided with the usual front placket 9 er uipped with buttons and button holes or similar fastening devices,- and the meeting edges of the inserted seat portion 8 are reinforced by placket strips 10 of non-elastic material e' nipped with buttons and button holes or ot er suitable connecting means, as shown at 11.

It will be distinctly understood that the 5 shirt portion and the drawers portion of the improved garment have a permanent and unbroken connection along the waist line where the, waist band 4 is provided; said waist band being-stitched or otherwise securedalong its upper and lower edges to the shirt portion 1 an the drawers portion 2, respectively, of the garment.

By the construction herein shown and described, a union garment is provided which combines all the advantages of separate gar ments constructed of difierent material with all the advantages 'of a union garment; and it is thus calculated to fill a want which has not heretofore been supplied.

I am entirely aware that single garments have heretofore been constructed in which different materials have been employed for special reasons arising out of the different nature ofthe material; an excellent example being the so called elastic seam drawers in which for reasons well understood the comparatively inelastic textile material employed in the construction of the body of the garment has been combined with inserted seams, crotch pieces and ankle bands of comparatively elastic material, such as knit goods. I am also well aware that garments constructed mainly of elastic material, such as knit goods have been reinforced at various points by 35 means of material of a relatively non-elastic nature. I am not aware, however, that a union garment has ever been made, previous to my invention hereof in which a body portion or shirt portion of relatively elastic material, such as knit goods, has been ermanently combined with a drawers portion, the body of which is made of relatively non-elastic material, such as textile or woven fabric. The advantages of such a garment have been pointed out in the foregoing specification; it will be found convenient and comfortable in use, and to possess a degree of durability not possessed by the ordinary union garment constructed practically throughout of knit goods.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is

A union undergarment comprising a shirt portion of elastic material such as knit fabric, a drawers portion of inelastic materialsuch as woven fabric, and an inelastic waist band to which the shirt and drawers por ions are permanently united, the drawers portion eniodying elastic seams, centrally overlapping elastic seat portions divided from each other from the waist band downward along the crotch, and inelastic strips united to the'inner' ed es of the elastic seat portions and provi ed with complemental fasteners.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses;

WILLIAM B. WALKER Witnesses: z

FRED J. Bnprom), P. G. Mormon. 

